Health A to Z

Early or delayed puberty

Also called Precocious puberty, Pubertal delay

Puberty arriving much earlier or later than expected. Usually a normal variant, and sometimes the first sign of something that needs finding.

Earwax

Also called Impacted earwax, Cerumen

Normal, protective, and when it blocks the ear it causes hearing loss that gets mistaken for something far worse.

Eating disorders

Also called Anorexia nervosa, ARFID, Binge eating disorder, OSFED

Not about vanity, and not a phase. The mental illness with the highest death rate.

Ectopic pregnancy

A pregnancy implanting outside the womb. It can rupture and cause fatal internal bleeding, and the symptoms are easily mistaken.

Eczema

Also called Atopic dermatitis, Atopic eczema

A skin barrier that leaks moisture and lets irritants in. Itchy, exhausting, and very often undertreated.

Edwards' and Patau's syndromes

Also called Trisomy 18, Trisomy 13, T18, T13

Serious chromosomal conditions usually found in pregnancy. The language of incompatible with life is outdated, and parents deserve better than it.

Ehlers-Danlos syndromes

Also called EDS, hEDS, Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

Faulty connective tissue, so joints, skin and blood vessels are too stretchy. Frequently dismissed for years.

Encephalitis

Also called Inflammation of the brain, Autoimmune encephalitis

Inflammation of the brain itself. Fever with confusion or personality change is the pattern, and treatment within hours changes the outcome.

Endocarditis

Also called Infective endocarditis, Heart valve infection

Infection on a heart valve, presenting as weeks of feeling vaguely unwell. Blood cultures before antibiotics is the step that gets missed.

Endometriosis

Tissue like the womb lining growing where it should not. Around 1.5 million people in the UK, and an average eight-year wait for diagnosis.